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2021 Acura RDX SUV FWD

1
Recalls
20
Complaints
Overall rating

Safety Ratings.

NHTSA’s 5-Star Safety Ratings help consumers compare vehicle safety when searching for a car. More stars mean safer cars.

Frontal Crash
Side Crash
Rollover
Overall Front Star Rating

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Front Driver Side
Front Passenger Side
Overall Side Star Rating

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Driver
Passenger
Overall Side Pole Star Rating

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Rollover Star Rating

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Rollover Risk: 16.5%

Complaints
Recalls

20 Complaints

for 2021 ACURA RDX
01/28/2022
Components: UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Incident Date: 12/16/2021
Crash: No
Fire: No
Vehicle Identification Number: 5J8TC2H37ML******
Summary

My Telemetrics Control Unit failed on Acura update. This is part of the system that calls for Emergency help when involved with a crash. I t was identified at an Acura dealership and the part was ordered. It is on back order now for over a month with no known delivery date

12/22/2021
Components: VISIBILITY
Incident Date: 12/20/2021
Crash: No
Fire: No
Vehicle Identification Number: 5J8TC2H59ML******
Summary

The contact owns a 2021 Acura RDX. The contact stated while the vehicle was stationary in the driveway, he noticed that the rear windshield had shattered. Upon inspection, the contact stated he did not see any near objects that would have caused the windshield to shatter. The contact read online of other vehicle owners experiencing the same failure due to the cold weather. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired but was pending repairs. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 5,539.

12/01/2021
Components: STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Incident Date: 11/20/2021
Crash: No
Fire: No
Vehicle Identification Number: 5j8tc2h74ml******
Summary

On NOV 20th 2021 took the vehicle for Oil change, to Acura dealer. The service tech informed me the hood its not opening. The latch or cable its broken. The part its not in stock. I can't open the hood to check all necessary fluids, especially windshield washer fluid. I think its safety concern when I'm out of washer.

11/02/2021
Components: UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Incident Date: 10/31/2021
Crash: No
Fire: No
Vehicle Identification Number: 5J8TC2H58ML******
Summary

Driving on the highway and suddenly the moonroof imploded. Luckily no other cars nearby and did not go through an underpass when this occurred. No signs of any impact to cause this from remaining glass. Waiting for Acura dealership to assess damage but told me the part was backordered due to this happening with multiple vehicles.

09/23/2021
Components: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE
Incident Date: 09/22/2021
Crash: No
Fire: No
Vehicle Identification Number: 5J8TC2H79ML******
Summary

I own a 2021 Acura RDX that was purchased new in February 2021. In the 11,500 miles I have driven it, there have been zero problems until yesterday. However, yesterday, when driving on an Interstate highway at 70 mph, in the rain, while passing a semi truck, my Acura RDX suddenly went into limp mode and the check engine light began flashing. After pulling over to the berm, and driving in the limp mode to the next exit, I turned the engine off. When I turned the engine back on it functioned normally and the check engine light went out. The engine has functioned normally for the approximately 100 miles I have driven since that time. Since there is no problem now, I have not taken the vehicle to the dealer to be checked since I felt that they would find nothing. When looking up this problem I found that mine is not an isolated case, and this same thing has happened to other Acura RDX owners. For that reason I am reporting the problem. I have also written to Acura to tell them of the problem. This was a very scary situation to have the engine suddenly, and without warning, go into limp mode while on a busy Interstate highway. Fortunately, in this case I was able to safely get to the berm of the road, but that might not always be possible. I have no idea when this might happen again, which is also scary. It is also very strange that by turning the engine off and then back on the problem disappeared. If requested, I would be happy to have Acura look at my vehicle if it would help to find the root cause of this problem. Thank you for your review of this problem.

09/17/2021
Components: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Incident Date: 05/26/2021
Crash: No
Fire: No
Vehicle Identification Number: 5j8tc2h50ml******
Summary

When using my apple phone in the car I cannot answer, hang up, talk using the hands free option at certain times

08/26/2021
Components: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE
Incident Date: 08/25/2021
Crash: No
Fire: No
Vehicle Identification Number: 5J8TC1H5XML******
Summary

On 3 separate occasions my Collision mitigation braking system has malfunctioned. The first time I was driving at 55 with my cruise control set with no cars in front, behind or beside me when, without warning or reason, the orange brake light abruptly flashed on my front dash panel and my car abruptly stopped in a whiplash manner. The second occasion I was driving on the interstate at 65, on this particular interstate, the 64, it splits to the right to a separate interstate, the 264, and cars wait until the last minute to go 3 lanes of traffic over to get off. My car again without warning or reason flashed the orange brake sign on my front dash panel and my car abruptly stopped. Thankfully the cars rushing over did not hit me but there were honks and swerves and I could have been hit or caused an accident. The third incident occurred 8/25/21 with my son in the car while the feature was disabled, I was not close to the car in front of me, at least 2 car lengths as we were sitting in traffic and all trying to merge left, thankfully this time I was able to take control of the brake because I was going at a speed of ~5 but it scared my special needs son to the point of not being able to go back over that bridge.

08/20/2021
Components: POWER TRAIN,ENGINE
Incident Date: 08/19/2021
Crash: No
Fire: No
Vehicle Identification Number: 5J8TC2H79ML******
Summary

Driving at night in rain on interstate 81N in southern Virginia. I pressed accelerator all the way to pass and the car downshifted and then lost power. The engine light was flashing. I did not have enough power to maintain adequate highway speed while in the midst of a passing maneuver. While car was decelerating (with foot on accel pedal with no apparent response) I activated hazard lights and made my way across traffic to the shoulder. 70mph speed limit. I dropped to 50mph or so rather quickly amid traffic that put me and the traffic around me in a dangerous situation. Once stopped on shoulder (again in a dangerous situation that I'd prefer to avoid), i turned ignition off for 10 seconds and then restarted car. Situation seems to have cleared up; no engine light flashing and full? power. It did not happen again when I pressed accelerator to floor to recreate situation. This vehicle has 3800 miles on it.

07/24/2021
Components: ENGINE
Incident Date: 07/22/2021
Crash: No
Fire: No
Vehicle Identification Number: 5J8TC1H33ML******
Summary

Incident happened on, 22 July 2021- Rainy day, accelerated vehicle to pass, vehicle went limb unresponsive, check engine blinking, needed to stop in Highway 4. Almost got rear-ended by semi trailer, fortunately made maneuver for emergency stop. Turned vehicle off for a few minutes, while my heart settled and turned vehicle back on check engine was no longer blinking and vehicle was once more responsive. 24 July 2021, I am currently in Acura Autonation Dealer in Sanford for maintenance appointment and informed them of issue. I am waiting for their system to come up since they are currently having issues, hopefully I will receive further info on malfunction of vehicle.

07/06/2021
Components: UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Incident Date: 10/17/2020
Crash: No
Fire: No
Vehicle Identification Number: 5J8TC2H71ML******
Summary

I purchased a 2021 Acura RDX new. The car makes loud cracking/popping sounds from the panoramic sunroof when driving over uneven pavement, particularly at an angle such as, entering or leaving a driveway. This has occurred since new. It consistently makes the sounds when cold, like backing out of the driveway and over the curb first thing in the morning. It is inconsistent after first having made the sound but, will still make the sounds under the right conditions. I have reported the issue to Acura dealer service and to Acura Client Relations, with no resolution. Many have reported similar issues on an Acura owners blog.

06/28/2021
Components: UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Incident Date: 01/01/2021
Crash: No
Fire: No
Vehicle Identification Number: 5J8TC2H79ML******
Summary

All sound warnings are very low and impossible to hear them especially with the music on. The volume is very low and will not override the music volume. The warning volume is very low and driver can’t increase the volume. Especially the blind spot warning on the right side, if you miss it, it’s an accident sure to happen. Acura can change this with a simple software update but they keep ignore my requests. Hopefully you, the consumer advocate, can convince them to do the software update. Let’s make it safer for all and save some lives.

06/22/2021
Components: POWER TRAIN,ENGINE
Incident Date: 06/22/2021
Crash: No
Fire: No
Vehicle Identification Number: 5J8TC2H79ML******
Summary

Brand new 2021 RDX - bought 3 days ago, only 128 miles. Driving on highway and it suddenly loses power. Was able to get to shoulder, but unable to get enough power to exit the highway to find a safer place to park. Check engine light and several transmission warnings indicating I should see dealer immediately. As vehicle came close to a stop, it shuddered and clunked so badly it seemed like I ran something over, but nothing was there. Tried to shut vehicle down and restart, but constant error messages and would only lurch a little. Had to have vehicle towed to dealership, but of course they said they never heard of this happening before.

06/11/2021
Components: ENGINE
Incident Date: 06/11/2021
Crash: No
Fire: No
Vehicle Identification Number: 5J8TC2H52ML******
Summary

I was driving in the rain, accelerated to pass a vehicle and the engine lost power. The check engine light came on and the car went into "limp" mode. The car would barely go 40 mph on a highway and the speed seemed to be continuing to decrease. Luckily I was able to pull over and shut the car off. Restarted, the problem appeared to go away. This is a very dangerous situation and I have read other people reporting similar incidents.

06/11/2021
Components: UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Incident Date: 06/10/2021
Crash: No
Fire: No
Vehicle Identification Number: 5J8TC1H79ML******
Summary

Brand new 2021 Acura RDX panoramic sunroof exploded less than 2 weeks after purchase. I was driving when all the sudden, out of nowhere, there was a loud pop/explosion sound. I immediately pulled over and inspected the but didn't find anything. Not one scratch or dent anywhere. It wasn't until I was getting back in the car, and heard the sound of glass slowly shattering, that I realized it was the sunroof. Nothing external hit the car to cause the explosion/shatter. I was the only car on the road when it happened...no cars in front of, behind or beside me. The road was smooth and I hadn't driven over any bumps. Thankfully, the sun shade closed so no one in the car was injured.

06/08/2021
Components: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE
Incident Date: 05/09/2021
Crash: No
Fire: No
Vehicle Identification Number: 5j8tc2h71ml******
Summary

On May 9th we were driving on the freeway at around 3 pm on a sunlit clear day. It was a straight section of road. Dry pavement and traffic moving reasonably well. The car in front of us was at least 100 yards in front of us and about the same for the vehicle behind I believe. We were going around 50 mph. The car slammed on the brakes so hard the seat belt restraints engaged as we flew forward, enough so that my wife and I were both sore the next day. Items on the back seat flew onto the floor. If there had been a car behind us we would have been rear ended and potentially a multi car pile up. We took the car to the dealership the next day. They had the car for the day and returned it saying everything is calibrated as it should be. I have called Acura and they set up a case number and a case manager and said they would call me. They have not called nor returned my repeated phone calls. I have asked for a supervisor to call and that has not happened either. Acura’s case number is 12213602 and Simon is the case manager. His phone is 800 999 1009 x87723. The supervisor’s name is Terry. I don’t have an extension number for her. We have grandkids that ride in car seats in the back seat. Thank god this didn’t happen with one or both in the back seat with a car behind us. We have been driving cars with the braking feature on them for 10 years now (Ford and Infinity) and have never had anything like this happen. We’ve had the adaptive cruise pick up on something in the past and ease off the accelerator but never anything like this. The cruise was not engaged when this occurred. In googling this it sounds like we aren’t the only ones having this issue.

05/24/2021
Components: ENGINE
Incident Date: 05/23/2021
Crash: No
Fire: No
Vehicle Identification Number: 5J8TC2H62ML******
Summary

2021 RDX A-spec 7322 miles northbound Hwy 95 Nevada to Oregon, raining. Attempted to pass semi, car behind me also passing semi, sudden loss of power, almost hit from behind, risk of on-coming traffic, able to move to right behind semi. Feeble response to any attempt to accelerate, barely limping along, moved to right shoulder and then to pullout, blinking check engine light, no other warning indicators. Idled engine for several minutes, continued to run rough, would not rev, check engine light cycled off, then back on (blinking), then off over period of several minutes. Turned engine off, waited 10 min or so, restarted ok, finished rest of 600 mile journey scared to pass lawnmower. Life-threatening event for my wife and I, several moments of sheer panic. First time this has happened.

03/13/2021
Components: WHEELS
Incident Date: 03/13/2021
Crash: No
Fire: No
Vehicle Identification Number: 538TC2H76ML******
Summary

REAR PASSENGER SIDE TIRE BLEW OUT WHILE DRIVING ON INTERSTATE. JUST BEFORE LEAVING THE HOUSE IT WAS INFLATED TO 35 PSI. AFTER GETTING ON INTERSTATE I RECEIVED A LOW TIRE PRESSURE INDICATION. INITIALLY IT SHOWED 17 PSI. I SLOWED DOWN AND BY THE TIME I GOT TO THE NEXT EXIT IT WENT DOWN TO 0. I PULLED UNTIL A PARKING LOT AND THE TIRE HAD SHREDDED OFF THE RIM. THERE WERE NO HOLES OR NAILS IN THE TIRE TREAD BUT APPEARS TO HAVE BLOWOUT HOLES IN THE SIDEWALL. THE TIRES ARE CONTINENTAL CROSSCONTACT.

03/09/2021
Components: STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Incident Date: 03/03/2021
Crash: No
Fire: No
Vehicle Identification Number: 5J8TC2H56ML******
Summary

BOTH MYSELF AND HUSBAND HAVE HEARD KNOCK OR LOUD POP SOUND. ONE LOUD KNOCK OR TWO WITH SLIGHT LEVEL CHANGE SUCH AS ENTERING OR LEAVING DRIVEWAY. MANY OTHER ACURA RDX OWNERS HAVE REPORTED SAME ISSUE. APPEARS TO BE FLEXING OF PANORAMIC SUNROOF. MY VEHICLE IS ONE WEEK OLD (WAS COURTESY VEHICLE) 2021 ACURA RDX. IN SHOP NOW. MANY HAVE REPORTED SERVICE ISSUES WITH NO RESOLUTION THROUGH DEALERSHIP OR ACURA. SEVERAL OWNERS HAVE ADDED ISSUES WITH SUNROOF LEAKING AND EVEN BLOW OUT OF SUNROOF WINDOW.

12/16/2020
Components: SUSPENSION,SERVICE BRAKES, AIR
Incident Date: 12/14/2020
Crash: No
Fire: No
Vehicle Identification Number: 5J8TC1H65ML******
Summary

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2021 ACURA RDX. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING, SHE HEARD A CLUNKING AND RATTLING SOUND COMING FROM THE FRONT PASSENGER'S SIDE WHEEL WELL AREA. DURING ACCELERATION AND STOPPING, THE CONTACT HEARD A POPPING SOUND COMING FROM THE REAR WHEELS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO JENKINS ACURA (2025 SW COLLEGE ROAD, OCALA, FL 34471, (352) 414-4588). THE DEALER STATED THAT THE ROTORS WERE MAKING THE SOUND AND NEEDED TO BE ADJUSTED. THE CONTACT RECEIVED A CALLBACK AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE BALL JOINTS AND ROTORS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED, ALONG WITH THE AXLE AND WHEEL BEARINGS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER HAD NOT BEEN CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 200.*DT THE CONSUMER STATED THE DEALER REPLACED RF ROCKER ARM AND RF BALL JOINT ELIMINATING THE PROBLEM. *TR

12/14/2020
Components: SUSPENSION
Incident Date: 12/14/2020
Crash: No
Fire: No
Vehicle Identification Number: 5J8TC1H65ML******
Summary

THERE IS A HORRIBLE CLUNKING NOISE COMING FROM FRONT WHEN DRIVING OR TURNING (POSSIBLE PASSENGER SIDE). IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOUR SPEED IS. IT SOUNDS LIKE IT MAY BE THE SUSPENSION OR STRUTS AND IT'S SO BAD THAT IT SOUNDS LIKE MY FRONT END IS FALLING APART. WITH ONLY 2400 MILES IT HAS GOTTEN WORSE AND WORSE. DROPPED IT OFF AT THE DEALERS THIS MORNING AND SERVICE TECH DROVE IT AROUND BUILDING TO COME BACK AND SAY HOW BAD IT SOUNDED. HE SAYS HE HASN'T EVER HEARD THIS NOISE. ALSO, THE REAR, WHEN BREAKING AND ACCELERATING HAS A POPPING NOISE DURING TAKE OFF AND STOPPING. BOTH NOISES ARE GETTING MUCH WORSE TO THE POINT MY HUSBAND SAID THAT I COULD NOT DRIVE IT OUT OF CONCERN FOR SAFETY UNTIL THIS ISSUE IS FIXED. SEEMS CRAZY THAT YOU WOULD ALREADY EXPERIENCE ISSUES LIKE THIS IN A BRAND NEW $50K CAR.

1 Recalls

for 2021 ACURA RDX
02/12/2021
CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 21V939000
POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DRIVESHAFT
Driveshaft failure can cause a sudden loss of drive power, or cause the vehicle to roll away when parked if the parking brake is not applied. Either condition can increase the risk of a crash or injury.
Campaign Number: 21V939000
Manufacture: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Components: POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DRIVESHAFT
Summary

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2021 Acura RDX and 2022 CR-V Hybrid vehicles. A component in the right or left front driveshaft may have been improperly heat-treated, which could result in driveshaft failure.

Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.

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